Transformation potential of the digital economy and Industry 4.0 for innovative and industrial development and economic inequality

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to determine the transformational potential of digital economy technologies and Industry 4.0 for innovative development and economic inequality. The relationship between the concepts of "innovation", "transformation", "revolution" in the context of digital transformation is considered. The transformational role of theintroduction of technologies that optimize business models and economic relations from both the demand and supplysides is characterized, which involves increasing operational efficiency, changing the structure of the company and businessmodel. Given market competition, the role of innovation as a factor of competitive advantage is characterized. Thedifferences between long waves and large surges are noted as the result of historical events, which requires a specificidentification of various technological systems interconnected by each revolution. The conditions under which transformational processes acquire the characteristics of a "revolution" are substantiated. The idea is considered thatthe systemic transformation caused by Schumpeterian "creative destruction" in each technological revolution changesthe paradigm that organizes all innovators, thereby creating a mismatch between the emerging new economy and theoutdated political context. The techno-economic paradigm for describing the systemic transformation after thetechnological revolution is characterized.